The present invention relates to amine oxides and more particularly to new tertiary di-.beta.-hydroxy amine oxides and their preparation.
Various aliphatic amine oxides presently are prepared commercially by oxidizing aliphatic tertiary amines with aqueous hydrogen peroxide. The tertiary amine is dissolved in solvent, preferably water, and reacted with a slight excess of aqueous hydrogen peroxide at temperatures of about 60.degree. to 80.degree. C. Conversions of the tertiary amine to the amine oxide routinely exceed 99%. Normally, these amine oxides are prepared as 30%-40% aqueous solutions. During the preparation of the amine oxides, the reaction mixture normally forms a gel which can last from one to several hours. Such gellation prevents efficient mixing of reagents and proper cooling of the reaction mixture. Moreover, the typically low amine oxide concentrations in the aqueous product means that a great deal of water is being handled and transported which clearly increases production and transportation costs. The water content of the aqueous amine oxides cannot be reduced readily as the product aliphatic amine oxides are hygroscopic.